ERIC EJ1159166: The Impact of Contextual Factors on English Language Teachers' Beliefs

2017·0.5 MB·English

by  ERIC

Available online at www.jlls.org
JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTIC STUDIES
ISSN: 1305-578X
Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 13(2), 53-70; 2017

The impact of contextual factors on English language teachers‟ beliefs*
Ertan Altınsoy a † , Zuhal Okan b

a Aksaray University, Aksaray 68100, Turkey
b Çukurova University, Adana 01330, Turkey
APA Citation:
Altınsoy, E., & Okan, Z. (2017). The impact of contextual factors on English language teachers‟ beliefs. Journal of Language and Linguistic
Studies, 13(2), 53-70.
Submission Date:06/01/2017
Acceptance Date:07/08/2017
Abstract
The purpose of this research is threefold. First, the relationship between teachers‟ beliefs and contextual factors
is explored. Second, the factor which is most significant as perceived by the teachers themselves will be
presented and finally, the existence of a meaningful difference between public and private school English
teachers in terms of perceived impact of contextual factors will be examined. A scale was developed by the
researchers having pre-interviews with English teachers and reviewing relevant literature. The scale developed
was piloted with 82 public and private school English teachers working in different parts of Turkey and the
collected data were subjected to reliability analysis with SPSS. 210 public and private school English teachers
participated in the study. For further data, 14 participants were interviewed. The collected data revealed a
significant relationship between contextual factors and English language teachers‟ beliefs and practices. It was
also found out that student oriented contextual factors have the greatest impact on English language teachers.
Except teacher and management oriented contextual factors, meaningful difference was observed between public
school and private school English teachers in terms of policy, classroom, inspection, and student oriented
contextual factors.
© 2017 JLLS and the Authors - Published by JLLS.

Keywords: Contextual factors; teacher beliefs; student oriented contextual factors; policy oriented contextual
factors; classroom oriented contextual factors
1. Introduction
Teaching is a complex phenomenon that can be practiced in a number of different personal ways by
its practitioners. A certain teaching activity can be practiced in various styles and ways by different
teachers. In order to understand the reason of a specific teacher action, it is vitally important to
comprehend the underlying idea behind it. To put it in another way, it is necessary to examine the
teacher‟s beliefs and personal theories to understand the teacher practice in the classroom. In this
sense, what teachers do in the classrooms is the reflection of what he/she stores in his/her belief
system. Therefore, beliefs play a crucial mediating role in teachers‟ professional development by
shaping how they think, feel and act out in the classroom.

* This paper is a summary of my master‟s thesis entitled, “Investigating the Influence of Contextual Factors on English Language Teachers‟
Beliefs”. The complete thesis can be found at http://sbeski.cu.edu.tr/tez/1821/
† Corresponding author. Tel.: [phone]
E-mail address: [email protected]
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1.1. Literature review
A wide range of terms have been used to describe teacher‟s belief in literature. Clark and Peterson
(1986) use teachers‟ theories and beliefs in order to refer to the rich store of knowledge teachers have
that would directly influence their planning and their interactive thought and decisions. To Tabachnick
and Zeichner (1984), belief is "a reflective, socially defined interpretation of experience that serves as
a basis for subsequent action ... a combination of beliefs, intentions, interpretations, and behavior that
interact continually" (Clark & Peterson, 1986, p. 287). Similarly, Goodman (1988) preferred to use
teachers‟ perspectives referring to beliefs claiming that two teachers may exhibit different actions for
the same events on the basis of their beliefs constructed through the interpretation of guiding images.
Richards (1996) uses maxims to imply personal working principles which reflect implicit personal
teaching philosophy of teachers (as cited in Borg, 2003, p. 86) whereas Borg chooses the term
cognition when he refers to what teachers know, believe and think.
Belief in this study refers to personal theories and implicit assumptions about teaching and learning
constructed through experience and observation of prior learning. However, it is quite difficult to point
from where teachers‟ beliefs originate exactly. As Pajares cited, “belief does not lend itself easily to
empirical investigation” (1992, p. 308). However, in the light of previous studies (Numrich, 1996,
Johnson 1994, Bailey et al., 1996), it is possible to say that prior experiences of teachers and teacher
education are the two major sources shaping teachers‟ beliefs. To Lortie (1975), these beliefs are built
from the events the teachers experience during the “apprenticeship of observation” (cited in Roberts,
1998, p. 66). Similarly, Woods (cited in Borg, 2003) suggested that there are external and internal
factors shaping teachers‟‟ decisions and the teachers rely upon their experiences and previous
language learning history.
The research indicates that teachers modify their instructional practices in line with their beliefs but
particular contextual factors appear to be influential in such a process. Flores and May (2006) pointed
out that normative and bureaucratic side of teaching and unwritten, implicit rules at school affected the
new teachers negatively according to the data gathered. Therefore, the teachers shape their existing
beliefs according to the demands, norms and the values of the context and adopt a more compliant
attitude.
Boyd, Grossman, Ing, Lankford, Loeb and Wyckoff (2011) studied the effect of contextual factors
on teachers‟ retention decisions. They analyzed first-year teachers‟ perceptions of school contextual
factors and the relationship between school contextual factors and teacher attrition. . The results
indicated that working conditions were strongly influential in teachers‟ professional development and
career decisions.
Studies in English Language Teaching (ELT) field also display similar findings. Sakui‟s two year
longitudinal study (2004), for example, suggested that although the teachers in Japan indicated that
they incorporated Communicative Language Teaching into their classroom, their practices displayed
strong incongruity because of the curriculum prescribed by the Ministry of Education. Therefore,
Sakui (2004) concluded that teachers‟ teaching practices are often driven and influenced by internal
and social factors.
Similarly, Richards and Pennington‟s study (1998) on novice teachers in Hong Kong revealed that
although these teachers were trained with Communicative Language Teaching during the formal
training and were expected to apply its principles into their classrooms, they departed from it because
of large classes, unmotivated students, exams, syllabus, pressure to conform from more experienced
teachers and students limited level of English proficiency.
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Gorsuch (2001) found out that university entrance exams and students‟ expectations have
significantly strong effect on the teachers‟ acceptance of Communicative Language Teaching
activities. On the other hand, pre- and in-service teacher education programs and privately undertaken
courses have insignificant influence. Moreover, the participating teachers all agreed that students‟
English abilities, class size, students‟ expectations, the textbook, teachers‟ English speaking abilities
and teachers‟ English learning experiences have powerful preventive influence on the teachers‟
practice and decisions.
In their research with four science teachers Savaşçı and Berlin (2012) inquired into the relationship
between teachers‟ beliefs and classroom practice concerning the implementation of constructivism in
two different school settings by collecting data through interviews, survey and classroom observations.
The data revealed that although the teachers are willing to implement constructivist principles into
their classrooms, certain contextual factors such as student misbehaviour, large class size, school type,
curriculum, centralized exams and parental involvement hinder the teachers from applying what they
considered as ideal and effective.
In a more recent study, Cuayahuitl and Carranza (2015) investigated the influence of contextual
factors on six Mexican teachers in their in-class instructional decisions using a qualitative research
design. The study uncovered that contextual factors, namely, time constraints, institutional
mechanisms deciding on the course content and the selection of the textbooks, students‟ proficiency
level, class size and teachers‟ perceptions of freedom to make decisions on the materials are highly
influential in the participating teachers‟ belief which in turn shape their classroom behaviour and
decisions.
All in all, the study of teachers‟ beliefs is important in order to understand in-class decisions and
practices of the teachers but the role of contextual factors cannot be ignored because of the
sophisticated nature of teaching and learning process. Therefore, it is essential to investigate teachers‟
beliefs within the context they bound to as the contextual factors are quite influential in forming and
shaping teachers‟ decisions and practices.
1.2. Research questions
Within the scope of the study, the following research questions aimed to be answered.
1. Do contextual factors have an impact on English language teachers‟ beliefs in Turkish
schools?
2. If so, which contextual factor is most influential on English language teachers‟ practices in
the classroom?
3. Is there any difference between teachers working in state schools and private schools in
terms of the extent they feel they are affected by the contextual factors?

2. Method
Mixed method design is used for the present study as the data is analyzed qualitatively and the
numerical data is used in order to present the instrumentation results.
2.1. Sample / Participants
There were five groups of participants as the study consists of two phases. In the transition phase,
ten English teachers were interviewed on a voluntary basis in order to obtain data about the influences
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of contextual factors on their teaching practice in order to compare it with the data gathered from
extensive literature review and construct questionnaire items.
The second group of participants consisted of eight English teachers (six male, two female) and
were consulted to check whether the instrumentation had any confusing and unclear questions. They
were selected from the researcher‟s entourage for practicality reasons and no criteria were taken into
consideration for the selection.
The participants for the pilot study in the transition phase were eighty-two English teachers
teaching at primary and secondary levels. Of these eighty-one English teachers 87% is working at state
schools while only 12% is private school English teachers. This significant difference stems from the
difficulty in reaching private school teachers as the number of private schools is very limited
compared to state run public schools. With respect to school district, sixty-three of the participants are
working at schools located in urban setting while eighteen of them are teaching at rural setting
schools. All private school English teachers are working in urban settings.
After the piloting is over, the questionnaire was given to 210 English teachers working both at state
and private schools all around Turkey. In terms of gender 130 of them were female and the other 80
were male. Concerning the type of the school, 130 participants were working at state-run public
schools while 80 of them were working at private schools. Of these 210 participants, 159 were
working at schools located in an urban setting. In this respect, it was observed that all private schools
included in the study were located in urban areas. The remaining 51 participants were working at rural
areas. Fourteen English teachers selected randomly among the participants were invited for the follow-
up interviews.
2.2. Instrument(s)
In this study, mainly two types of data collection methods were used which are in line with mixed
method research design: a written questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Moreover, field notes
during the interviews were used when necessary.
2.2.1. Questionnaire
The questionnaire used in this study was designed for English language teachers working at public
and private schools in Turkey. In this process, first, a pool of items was developed on the basis of
relevant literature and the data gathered through interviews held with 10 Turkish teachers of English.
Second, previous studies were reviewed once again to see if an instrument containing items similar to
the pool exists. The layout of Lumpe et al. (2000) which was designed to investigate Science teachers‟
beliefs about the context presumed to be relevant and adapted for the current study.
The first draft was developed with 32 items and interviewees were consulted to check the clarity.
Some changes were made in the wording of the items. The initial instrument was pilot tested with 82
English teachers. While recommendations for item-to-response ratios vary from 1:4 (Rummel, 1970)
to at least 1:10 (Schwab, 1980); there are also studies in the literature showing that a ratio of 1:1,25
and 1:31 (Barrett and Kline, 1981) and 1:1,3 and 1:19,8 (Arrindell and van der Ende, 1985) did not
affect the factor stability (as cited by Morgado, Meireles, Neves, Amaral, & Ferreira, 2017). The ratio
in this study is 1:2,56, so the appropriateness of the data to the confirmatory factor analysis was
checked through Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value which is used to calculate the adequacy of
sampling and the reliability was checked through Cronbach‟s Alpha. KMO was found to be 0,906. In
this respect, for the current study, the obtained value indicates that factor analysis is appropriate for
these sets of data. Rotated component matrix was used to develop factor structure and define the
components of each factor. In order to find out the number of factors that the instrument was made up
of and how much of the information from the original variables could be explained by the factors, total
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variance explained table was put into practice. As a principle, it is preferred to choose the components
as factors with eigenvalues greater than one. The items with the highest loadings under the same
factors were grouped and the factor structure was constructed. As a result of the analysis there were
six components with eigenvalues greater than one. This instrument which was composed of 32 items
and 6 factors explains the 65,323 % of the total variables. In other words, the questionnaire evaluates
the phenomenon which is intended to investigate in percentage of 65, 323. In terms of reliability,
Cronbach‟s Alpha value of part B is 0,940 which shows a high internal consistency for the instrument
according to Field (2009). Similarly, Cronbach‟s Alpha value of Part C is 0,884 suggesting that the
items in Part C have high correlations with each other. In this respect, no changes were made in the
structure of the instrument and the items and the questionnaire was applied to 210 participants.
In the analysis of the actual study data, it was seen that certain items which were expected to be
under certain factors were observed under different factors with the highest loadings. In this respect,
three variables were extracted from the analysis of Part B and factor analysis was repeated in order to
reach more reliable findings. After extracting the items, KMO and Bartlett‟s Test value which is used
to calculate the adequacy of sampling as mentioned before undergoes a small change (0, 903). Like
KMO value, Cronbach‟s Alpha changed with a small decrease in the value (0, 934) which is regarded
as an ideal in terms of internal consistency. According to total variance table, six factors explain
67,002 % of the total variables that represents unremarkable increase compared to the value obtained
in the preceding factor analysis.
Consequently, the following factors were obtained for the first scale (Part B) on the basis of the
analysis.
• Factor 1: Policy Oriented Contextual Factors
The twenty third variable makes the highest contribution to the factor with 0, 752 value. This factor
includes variables that are out of teacher‟s control. In other words, policy oriented contextual factors
are external agencies that are related to foreign language education policy, foreign language education
decisions made by policy-makers.
• Factor 2: Classroom Oriented Contextual Factors
This factor is made up of four variables. ). Classroom oriented contextual factors include the issues
that are related with the physical layout of the classroom such as size, technologic equipment etc.
• Factor 3: Inspection Oriented Contextual Factors
As the name implies, inspection oriented contextual factors include the items that come out as a
result of the structure of inspection or supervision and the attitudes of inspectors. This factor is also
made up of 4 variables.
• Factor 4: Student Oriented Contextual Factors
These factors include four variables and represent the contextual factors emerge from students such
as motivation and attitudes towards English lesson, academic background and so on.
• Factor 5: School Management Oriented Contextual Factors
This factor deals with the attitudes of the school management towards English lesson and English
teachers and questions whether it supports or hinders the flow of the lesson.
• Factor 6: Teacher Oriented Contextual Factors:
Teacher oriented contextual factors are those that emerge from teachers‟ deficiencies.
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As mentioned before, the questionnaire is made up of two parts. Therefore, the same procedure was
repeated for the second scale (Part C). Certain items were removed for the analysis as they were
observed under different factors. Factor analysis was carried out again. Five items (item1, 3, 5, 27, 32)
were extracted from the instrument. KMO Bartlett value of the instrument after the extraction for Part
C is 0,786. Six factors explain 61,605 % of the twenty-seven variables according to total variance
explained table. In terms of reliability analysis, Cronbach‟s Alpha value of the instrument which is
composed of 27 number of items is 0, 864 that is regarded as a high value of internal consistency.
After the latest factor analysis for part C, the factors were constructed as follows:
• Policy Oriented Contextual Factors and Teacher‟s Practices
• Inspection Oriented Contextual Factors and Teacher‟s Practices
• Classroom Oriented Contextual Factors and Teacher‟s Practices
• Student Oriented Contextual Factors and Teacher‟s Practices
• School Management Oriented Contextual Factors and Teacher‟s Practices
• Teacher Oriented Contextual Factors and Teacher‟s Practices
2.2.2. Interviews
After the application of questionnaire, semi structured interviews were conducted with 14 English
teachers who were chosen randomly. Each interview lasted about twenty minutes. The questions were
all open-ended as to make the participants free to talk about anything they prefer. Additional questions
were forwarded to illuminate what the interviewee really meant. The recorded and transcribed data
were analysed and presented together with the quantitative data.
2.3. Data collection procedures
The basic data collection tool for quantitative data in the actual study was internet. As soon as the
instrument was finalized, an online form was created using Google Documents and sent to potential
partners using social media tools
For the interviews fourteen English teachers were selected as mentioned before. Before the
interview, each interviewee was contacted through telephone asked for a proper day for the
application. Some of the interviewees were visited at school for the interview while some of them
preferred to have interviews out of the school.
2.4. Data analysis
Quantitative data analysis for the questionnaire was conducted using SPSS 20 package programme.
Correlation analysis was applied in order to observe the relationship between contextual factors and
English teachers‟ beliefs. In order to find out mostly related contextual factor with English teachers‟
beliefs and practices, Linear Regression Analysis was conducted. For the purpose of observing
meaningful difference between public school and private school English teachers in terms of the extent
they feel they are affected by contextual factors, independent samples “t” test was used as an analysis
method.
Qualitative data was analysed using descriptive analysis and reliability was confirmed with inter-
rater reliability.
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3. Results
3.1. Findings for the Relationship between Contextual Factors and English Teachers’ Beliefs
and Practices
To find out the relationship between contextual factors and English teachers‟ beliefs and practices a
Pearson Correlation Analysis was conducted between belief and practice factors and strong positive
correlation was observed between the variables. The following tables summarize the results of Pearson
Correlation.
Table 1. Belief-Practice Correlation in terms of Policy Oriented Contextual Factors
Teacher Belief Teacher Practice
Contextual Factors
Policy
lau s Policy Pearson Correlation ,739**
tx ro (POL) p ,000
etn tca N 210
o F
C
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

The table clearly illustrates that there is a strong positive correlation between teachers‟ beliefs‟ and
practices in terms of policy oriented contextual factors, r = .739, N = 210, p < .01.
The interviews also support the preceding finding. The relationship between policy oriented
contextual factors and the beliefs and practices of teachers could be deduced from the interviewees‟
statements‟ about the policy oriented contextual factors. In the following extract the participants
mention foreign language education policy in Turkey and its effect on their practices in the classroom:
P.9 Quote A: The foreign language education policy in Turkey is a failure. First of all, policy
makers are planning to expose the students to intensive English lessons in the primary school and
secondary school which is very illogical because English teachers are limited in number. Therefore,
the teachers from different branches with limited English level are assigned for the English lessons
and the result is the students with prejudices and lack of motivation towards English. Moreover, exam
oriented education system is another barrier in front of us. The lessons are unfortunately grammar
and reading oriented because the students do not give enough attention to listening and speaking
practices as those skills are not tested in the exams. Furthermore, the books developed by the policy
makers are not attractive in design in terms of layout, pictures, cover etc. The content does not
address to students’ needs. You are constrained to use such a book in the classroom by the Ministry of
National Education. This is contrary to human reasoning.
The similar positive strong correlation is observed between beliefs and practices of teachers in
terms of classroom based contextual factors r = .688, N = 210, p < .01.
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Table 2. Belief-Practice Correlation in terms of Classroom Oriented Contextual Factors
Teacher Belief Teacher Practice
Contextual Factors
Classroom
lau s Classroom Pearson Correlation ,688**
tx ro (CLASS) p ,000
etn tca N 210
o F
C
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Several interview participants reported that classroom based contextual factors sets an obstacle for
effective English teaching except the ones working in private schools or colleges which shows the
relationship between classroom- based contextual factors and the belief and the practices of teachers.
Private school English teachers did not stress its effect on their practices as their schools are well-
equipped technologically, the classes are not crowded and classroom area is well organized in terms of
physical environment. In the following extract, the participant mention about the effect of classroom
based contextual factors:
P.1 Quote B: First of all, it is impossible have an effective English lesson with thirty or forty
students. Most of the English teachers working in state schools have to conduct the classes with at
least 30 students today. For an effective English teaching the number of students in the classroom
should not exceed 15 students. In these classes the teacher can deal with each student individually.
Moreover, English teaching should be as audio and visual as possible for the students. However, the
classrooms are made up of only blackboard and desks. There isn’t any technologic equipment
necessary for language teaching such as projector, computer, CD player etc. Therefore, you have to
survive in the classroom only with your course book and blackboard.
In terms of inspection oriented contextual factors, it is possible to observe strong positive
correlation between teacher‟s beliefs and practices r = .699, N = 210, p < .01.
Table 3. Belief-Practice Correlation in terms of Inspection Oriented Contextual Factors
Teacher Belief Teacher Practice
Contextual Factors
Inspection
lau s Inspection Pearson Correlation ,699**
tx ro (INSP) p ,000
etn tca N 210
o F
C
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

It is possible to talk about relationship between inspection oriented contextual factors and the
beliefs and practices of English teachers when the following interview extracts are analyzed in detail.
P.3 Quote C: The inspectors aren’t expert in their fields. As there are no inspectors from the field
of English teaching, we have been inspected from the inspectors of the different fields. Therefore, they
are inexpert of English language teaching so they are not able to observe the students’ progress in the
classroom. In order to conceal their incapability, they prefer to blame us for not following the
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contemporary practices in the field. Moreover, they are very rude because they don’t even introduce
themselves.
As with the student oriented contextual factors, it can be seen from the dataset in table 4 below that
there is a linear, strong correlation between English teacher‟s beliefs and practices r = .798, N = 210,
p < .01
Table 4. Belief-Practice Correlation in terms of Student Oriented Contextual Factors

Teacher Belief Teacher Practice
Contextual Factors
Student
Student Pearson Correlation ,798**
lau s (STU) P ,000
tx ro
etn tca N 210
o F
C
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

The following teacher‟s comment reveals their concerns about the effect of student oriented
contextual factors on their beliefs and practices. The teacher further elaborated that the effect is so
strong that they have to shape their practices in the classroom. When asked about the student oriented
contextual factors, the following participant commented:
P.8 Quote D: I am suffering about students a lot. I am working at a state school in a village. The
government provides the essential material for the class. However, forget about motivation,
preparation for the lesson, the students do not even bring the course book into the classroom. As a
result, I realized that no matter how hard you try, it means nothing with unmotivated and aimless
students.
With regards to management oriented contextual factors, it is apparent from the table that teachers‟
beliefs and practices are correlated. However, this correlation is not as strong as the previous
correlations. r = .590, N = 210, p < .01.

Table 5. Belief-Practice Correlation in terms of Management Oriented Contextual Factors

Teacher Belief Teacher Practice
Contextual Factors
Management
lau s Management Pearson Correlation ,590**
tx ro (man) P ,000
etn tca N 210
o F
C
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

The interview participants also did not elaborate on management oriented contextual factors
transparently which presents similar findings to correlation analysis results. This may be due to fear
from the pressure of school management or the teachers do not feel any hindrance related to
management oriented contextual factors.
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P.3 Quote E: We are carrying out projects, lots of activities but they are all ignored by the school
management. Classes such as Maths and Sciences are regarded more important than English classes
by the school management.
As with teacher oriented contextual factors, there is moderate positive correlation between English
teachers‟ beliefs and practices r = .575, N = 210, p < .01.
Table 6. Belief-Practice Correlation in terms of Teacher Oriented Contextual Factors
Teacher Belief Teacher Practice
Contextual Factors
Teacher
lau s Teacher Pearson Correlation ,575**
tx ro (teach) P ,000
etn tca N 210
o F
C
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

The moderate relationship may be due to the fact that the teachers are not open to accept the
drawbacks originate from themselves causing to hinder to be an effective English teacher. On the basis
of interviews, it is quite difficult to talk about relationship between teacher oriented contextual factors
and teachers‟ beliefs and practices. Almost all the participants blame the experienced teachers
referring teacher oriented contextual factors by excluding himself/ herself. The extract below reveals it
explicitly:
P.3 Quote F: Most of the newly graduate English teachers like me are capable of using technology
in the classroom as were exposed to use technology during the undergraduate education. However,
the teachers who have more than 10 years of experience are lacking it as they do not need technology
in the classroom because of their grammar and memorization oriented practices. Moreover, they don’t
need to follow contemporary practices in the field as they follow the same procedure every year.
Overall, in the light of the previous data, it is possible to talk about strong relationship between
contextual factors and English teachers‟ beliefs and practices in Turkish schools.
3.3. Findings for the Mostly Related Contextual Factor with English Language Teachers’
Practices in The Classroom
To find out the mostly related contextual factor with English language teachers‟ practices in the
classroom for the purpose of giving answer to research question two, each factor was analyzed
individually using linear regression analysis. The following tables illustrate regression analysis results.
Significant variables (p < 0.005) which contribute to the model were given in the table. The other
variables which have no impact on the criterion variable were ignored.